Part 2 of our conversation with George Ashby moves from the room to the arena, as George takes us inside the thought process, discipline, and competitive fire required to become a world-class three-cushion player. This is the episode where the game opens up. George explains the importance of scoring average, position play, shot selection, and concentration, giving listeners a rare window into what elite three-cushion really looks like from the player’s chair.

Along the way, he reflects on high runs, the satisfaction of controlled scoring, and the moment he realized that offense — not merely defense — would be the future of the game. He speaks candidly about studying his own matches, identifying weak spots in his concentration, and developing a more aggressive, television-friendly style built around scoring in bunches. It is a fascinating portrait of a player thinking several shots ahead while also thinking years ahead about where the sport itself needed to go.

George also shares the enormous influence of the European masters, including Raymond Ceulemans, Ludo Dielis, Nobuaki Kobayashi, and the systems and stroke variations that transformed his understanding of three-cushion. What he learned from international play forced him to rethink everything: equipment, tempo, speed control, and even how a champion should approach offense.

This episode captures the stretch where talent becomes craft. George is no longer simply a gifted young player from Illinois — he is becoming a student of the world game, measuring himself against the very best, and building the style that would define his championship years. For anyone who loves the deeper strategy of cue sports, this is a master class wrapped inside a life story.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

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Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with Hall of Fame members, world champions, and influential figures from across the world of cue sports—including pocket billiards, snooker, and carom disciplines such as three-cushion billiards. We highlight the people, places, and moments that have shaped the game—celebrating iconic players, memorable events, historic venues, and the brands that helped define generations of play. With a focus on the positive spirit of the sport, our goal is to create a rich, engaging, and timeless archive of stories that fans can enjoy now and for years to come.

Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher and Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, Legends of the Cue brings these stories to life—told in the voices of the game’s greatest figures.

Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

In Part 1 of our conversation with three-cushion billiard great George Ashby, we begin where all great cue sport stories begin: in the room. For George, that room was Drexel Billiards in Jacksonville, Illinois, the family business his father purchased after leaving the grocery trade. What followed was an upbringing unlike any other — washing glasses in the restaurant as a child, dragging an orange crate around the tables so he could stand high enough to play, and absorbing the culture of pool and billiards from the players who came through town.

This episode is a vivid journey into a vanished American billiard world. George brings Drexel Billiards to life in loving detail, from the soda fountain and tobacco counter to the beautiful Brunswick tables that defined the room. He shares memories of the nationally known players who passed through Jacksonville on their way to Chicago, then one of the great billiard capitals of the world, and explains how he first fell under the spell of three-cushion.

For listeners more familiar with pool than carom, George also delivers a wonderfully clear primer on the game itself — the equipment, the rules, the challenge, and the beauty that drew him away from pocket billiards and toward a discipline that rewards imagination, touch, and precision at the highest level.

This is the story of a small-town boy shaped by an extraordinary room, an extraordinary game, and an era of cue sports that has nearly disappeared. It is also the opening chapter in the making of one of America’s great three-cushion champions.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with Hall of Fame members, world champions, and influential figures from across the world of cue sports—including pocket billiards, snooker, and carom disciplines such as three-cushion billiards. We highlight the people, places, and moments that have shaped the game—celebrating iconic players, memorable events, historic venues, and the brands that helped define generations of play. With a focus on the positive spirit of the sport, our goal is to create a rich, engaging, and timeless archive of stories that fans can enjoy now and for years to come.

Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher and Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, Legends of the Cue brings these stories to life—told in the voices of the game’s greatest figures.

Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

The final episode brings Justin Bergman’s story onto pool’s biggest stage. Here the focus turns fully to the Mosconi Cup years: the pressure, the personalities, the preparation, the heartbreak, the joy, and the chaos that can only happen when elite pool collides with a made-for-TV team event. Justin talks about the differences between his various Mosconi experiences, including the early years in Blackpool and the later appearance on a winning American side in Las Vegas. He reflects on what it meant to finally be part of a U.S. team that beat Europe, and why that experience remains one of the great highlights of his career.

There are also wonderful behind-the-scenes stories throughout. Mark Wilson recalls the discipline he tried to impose on the American side, including fines for lateness, the challenge of preparing players in a city as distracting as Las Vegas, and the famous story of Justin disappearing with the walk-on girls instead of making practice on time. It is funny, revealing, and very human — a perfect example of how even a world-class event is shaped by personality as much as pressure. Justin also discusses players who seem built for that arena, the luck required in short races, and the matches that still stay with him.

The episode closes by looking forward as much as back. Justin talks about wanting another shot, about adjusting his schedule to make a realistic run at team consideration again, and about the fact that some ambitions never fully leave a player. It is an ideal ending: reflective, entertaining, and full of unfinished business.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with Hall of Fame members, world champions, and influential figures from across the world of cue sports—including pocket billiards, snooker, and carom disciplines such as three-cushion billiards. We highlight the people, places, and moments that have shaped the game—celebrating iconic players, memorable events, historic venues, and the brands that helped define generations of play. With a focus on the positive spirit of the sport, our goal is to create a rich, engaging, and timeless archive of stories that fans can enjoy now and for years to come.

Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher and Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, Legends of the Cue brings these stories to life—told in the voices of the game’s greatest figures.

Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”